“Idol” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, on a print press conference today, said the songwriting competition is still on. He said there may not be time to do a TV special focused on the songwriter songs but he’s still pushing it. The producers are focused on the “Idol Gives Back” charity event April 24-25.
Lythgoe admits he hasn’t heard the first albums of Fantasia, Ruben or Taylor Hicks, though he liked Kelly Clarkson’s and Carrie Underwood’s. “It’s not my type of music,” he said. “I like more middle of the road stuff. When they leave us, they go to different ways. I like country. I have little time to listen to outside music. I’m constantly listening to music of that week and trying to get everything downloaded to get as wide a spectrum of choice as I can.”
And he’s modest about the “Idol” impact. “It doesn’t really mean anything in real life,” he said.
I asked him whether he was disappointed no country singer made it in the final 24. He didn’t really answer the question per se.
“I don’t think we know what we’re ending up with. The top 24 are chosen from what the judges believe are the correct ones. And then America brings them down to the top 12. We don’t have much say in it.”
Then I asked about the dropping ratings (about 10 percent since performances started compared to last year.)
“Even if we lost 50 percent, we’d be a top 3 program. I’m not really that worried. Everyone tells me it’s a great deal to due with daylight savings. [That hurts viewership by about 6 percent.] It affects the programs with the most ratings the highest. People are saying this is not our greatest year for talent. I don’t necessarily agree with them. We’ve got five or six of the best singers we’ve ever had in ‘American Idol.’ If it is a bad year in talent, we’ll find out the next few weeks. We do always watch a ratings fall of 3 to 4 percent in that area.”
He’s also a big fan of Jordin Sparks. “Jordin continues to surprise me to be frank. I’m watching her grow week in and week out. From this 17 year old I saw a number of years ago when she auditioned for ‘American Juniors,’ I’m watching a young lady come to fruition and a huge talent.” He noted that she’s jumping genres very well.
Overall, he thinks five or six can win it. “It’s an open race at the moment because people can cancel each other out,” he said.
Any changes to the format? “We think we are almost there for the format. Now it’s the talent and different genres of music, how well the host carries the show through, how well the judges speak, how well the mentor that week is. We are reliant on a lot of things to produce a good show or bad show. The format is pretty near set.”
His thoughts on Sanjaya: “He has become a lightning rod. This kid has guts. You have to applaud that.” He thinks little girls are voting for him, keeping him around though he’s been in the bottom two several times.
Like me, he dismissed the impact of votefortheworst.com: “It’s a bit like a fly buzzing around a car. When you get 30 million votes, whatever that web site does is not enough.”
He repeated from last year two themes he hasn’t been able to do yet: a Beatles or Eagles night.
No comment about the lawsuit against Mario Vazquez. (No surprise there.)
